On this wint’ry morn, my thoughts turn to cheap-ish Indian food that I don’t have to drive across town for

First day of the “new” standard time (MST here, thanks), and forgive the pathetic fallacy but the snow chose a perfect time to arrive. The extra week of past-six sunsets were making me feel like it was still summer (that and the sabbatical, of course). Nope.

But even bad weather, maybe especially bad weather, here is a complete trip. This was our deck at around 9:45 this morning (I am typing this at 10:33, so just a little while ago):

Yes, pretty, and all in all only a centimetre or two of (wet and heavy and sticky) white stuff. I turned around and snapped this pic of the downtown- and yes, there is a skyline there somewhere:

…then after a cursory shovel (which is now BRIAN’S JOB since our snow guy moved back to Manitoba last spring, but Brian is in Ottawa this weekend), heading inside for a bagel, I noticed the sun was coming out, and this was the result:

Cool, eh? This sort of thing happens all the time in the winter (meaning Oct-May). In the summer of course the view is different:

Wow, now I’m depressed.

So let’s talk food. I’ve had the happy experience of having had some really good, not really expensive and really convenient Indian food since returning from my trip. The only Indian I had in Germany was pretty poor, although I’ll admit this was probably not representative; there are lots of Indian places in Berlin and I’m sure some are good.

Calgary has, of course, a huge East Indian population, nearly 5% of the city, and tonnes of Indian restos. But compared to the bargain-basement options in Toronto or Vancouver, Indian is usually a fairly expensive option here. A lunchtime buffet in Toronto can be had for, say. $7.95. I saw $6.95 in Portland. In Calgary, a really good place like downtown’s Glory of India, the buffet is a shocking $15.95. Yes, it’s excellent, but wow. Moti Mahal, which is right around the corner from our home, charges $14.95 on weekdays and doesn’t even (usually) have butter chicken. This is easily the most popular dish in Indian restos in Canada (in the US I’ve usually seen it as “Chicken Makhani”) and it’s missed.

Now, I know from the good Calgary contributors on Chowhound that there are good and cheaper options in the far-flung neighbourhoods in the NE and SE quadrants of the city, but we live near downtown. I’m happy to suggest the following three options; two are in the beltline, and one is in the southeast but right near the Franklin LRT stop (and DeVry), so it’s not remotely “far flung.”

1. Tiffin Curry and Roti House, 188 - 28 St SE, 403-273-2420, no website. This is across 28th from Short Pants Plaza, NORTH of Memorial (despite “SE” address, remember that “NE” does not start until you cross Centre Ave when you’re on the east side). A “tiffin” is an insulated container for stacked metal bowls that deliverymen (”tiffin wallahs”) take to workers in India; it’s as normal as drive-through here and, from what I’ve seen, incredibly more convenient. Tiffin Curry and Roti House actually does offer tiffins, but without delivery; you purchase a tiffin and get a discount on subsequent orders with it. Here’s a demo. Me with the closed tiffin:

And opened:

As you can see, the tiffin holds four metal bowls and is PLENTY of food for two. You don’t have to use this service, but it’s fun, environmentally responsible, and pays for itself after several visits.

Tiffin is also notable because they make whole-wheat rotis (a sort of puffier wheat tortilla) a la minute, and they are delicious. When we dine in, we usually get a one meat, one veg thali with three rotis, rice and one chutney. This is $10.50 and is a whack of very good food. Their butter chicken is remarkable for the volume of meat in it- it’s not just gravy, and the meat is not (as with too many Indian places) yesterday’s uneaten tandoori chicken. Veg curries are very nice, especially the green beans.

Tiffin, like many Calgary Indian places, is owned by Ismaili Muslims, from east Africa. There are so many Indian places here owned by either Muslims or Sikhs that we do not even bat an eye when we see beef, in different manifestations, on the menu. Anyway, the African background of the owners is evident with “mogo fries” on the menu; these are fries made with cassava, and Tiffin’s version is great.

Tiffin is closed on Sundays.

2. Mirchi, 825 12th Ave SW, 403-244-5683. No website. Pakistani-owned, this place is an excellent option, especially if you live in the Beltline. I had my first dinner there on the way back from the Canada Day festivities at Prince’s Island Park, and it was outrageous value. $13 got me one meat, one veg, and rice or naan- I chose rice, with butter chicken and a potato curry. Sat down waited maybe 5 minutes and TWO guys deliver THREE BIG BOWLS with rice, butter chicken and the aloo curry each in one- I was flabbergasted, that much for one person? A very simple side salad was completely unnecessary but it was included too. This huge pile of food appeared to be good value, but the taste- it was delicious, every bit of it. Not a ton of chicken but who cares- it was the best gravy, oh my, that gravy by itself on a bowl of basmati… the potatoes were stunning, packed with spice and flavour, and a little pile of of freshly grated ginger on top.

I’ve had lunch there a couple of times subsequently (get there early, it’s pretty tiny and fills up fast… actually, getting there late, after the lunch rush, is a good strategy too), but am always limited in how much I can try since I’m alone. Well, lucky for me, Brian came home with an unexpected bag of goodies from Mirchi, a couple of days ago, his first time. He got a goat curry, chicken spicy kabobs, aloo gobi, mixed veg, 3 naans (too much, they’re big) and 2 rice puddings. I’m not a huge fan of goat but theirs was actually pretty good, sort of pot roasty, not too stringy and few bones, but its GRAVY was really the best thing about that dish. The chicken was spicy, moist, tender, and much too easy to eat. Among everything, though, I have to recommend Mirchi for their veg- in particular, the aloo gobi was the best I’ve had in Calgary, better than Moti Mahal or Glory of India. Just explosive flavour. Everything was $40 but it was a huge amount of food; we could have done well with one veg, one meat, and two naan. That would have been dinner for two for about $15. Not bad at all, and really, really delicious.

These guys are open until 2AM Fri and Sat, too, so if you have a late-night curry craving, here you are!

3. Surya, 1207 11th Ave SW, 403-290-1777. WEBSITE. This in the Connaught Centre office building kitty-corner to the Co-op Midtown Market and across the street from my now-officially-favourite sushi place in Calgary, Uptown Sushi. It’s on the 11 St side of the building- follow your nose. This area is getting some huge residential density where there was once nothing but Atco utlilites something or other and a warehouse and almost zero residential. So good on Surya and Uptown for getting their feet in the door early for what will be (with the buildout of Stella-Nova-Luna condo towers, Oslo-Copenhagen towers, Aura and Cristal and who knows what else) a neighbourhood comprising thousands of people. And they will be hungry.

Surya’s in one of those revolving-door locations, one that has seen a sushi place, a Chinese place, another Indian place, and a Korean place all come and go in the 7+ years I’ve lived in Calgary. I had lunch at Surya a few days ago, and it was packed. Some of its success is of course due to the felicitous changes happening in the surrounding area, but it’s also due to their delicious food, excellent service, and good prices.

I’ve only been to the lunch buffet at Surya and have been really impressed. Unlike Moti Mahal, they have butter chicken, really good butter chicken, on the buffet every day. They also have beautiful, rich veg curries, especially a mushroom and peas made with butter chicken style gravy, amazing. The baigan aloo I had most recently was killer. So the food is great. The naan is also completely amazing: crisp, hot and buttery, this is one naan that I don’t forget about and leave cold in the basket. It is, maybe, the best I’ve had in Calgary and maybe the best I’ve had anywhere. Orgasmic naan. Finally, the buffet is pricey by non-Calgary standards, but for here, it’s not bad. Lunch is $12.99 as of last week, and dinner is ALSO $12.99 for the same spread. Did I say DINNER? Yes, Surya offers a dinner buffet on Mondays and Wednesdays, and unlike every other Indian place that does a dinner buffet, they don’t ratchet up the price. This is a great, inexpensive, convenient option for downtown-area dwellers.

Looks like it’s stopped snowing, so it’s lunchtime.